Solid state lighting apparatuses, for example, light emitter packages, devices, and/or light emitting diode (LED) chips are used in a wide variety of lighting applications. Designers utilize various sizes, shapes, and/or designs of solid state lighting apparatuses to accommodate the wide variety of lighting applications, for example, to provide desired electrical and/or optical properties not limited to operability at desired voltages, emission of desired brightness, light density, light output, color, beam size, and/or beam shape.
Solid state lighting apparatuses comprise electrical contacts (e.g., traces, leads, terminals, bond pads, etc.) configured to physically and electrically connect to various circuitry components, for example, within lighting fixtures or lighting components for receiving electrical current from a power supply. In general, electrical contacts of solid state lighting apparatuses are soldered to portions of external circuits or circuitry components, not limited to circuit boards, for example, printed circuit boards (PCBs), metal core printed circuit boards (MCPCB), flex circuitry, etc.
To illuminate the solid state lighting apparatuses in a circuit or other arrangement, it is known to physically and electrically connect the apparatuses to the circuit component, in some aspects, via soldering the electrical contacts of the lighting apparatuses to solder pads disposed on the circuit component. When an electrical bias is applied across the circuit, the solid state apparatuses electrically connected thereto emit light. In conventional systems, solder pads of the external circuit or circuit component must be customized to accommodate the design of the apparatus which will become soldered thereto. That is, conventional solder pads must be customized according to the various sizes, shapes, and/or designs of the solid state lighting apparatus in order to connect the apparatuses to the circuit or circuit component. Providing customized solder pads and/or circuitry having customized solder pads is both time and cost intensive.
Another problem associated with conventional solder pads, methods, and/or systems, involves poor alignment of the apparatuses over the solder pad. During the soldering process, the flow of molten solder material can potentially induce rotation, sliding, and/or misalignment between the solder pad and component or apparatus to be attached thereto. Such misalignments often result in shorted apparatuses, dark spots in the resultant light beam, and/or other defects within the circuitry component.
Despite availability of various solder pads and methods in the marketplace, a need remains for solder pads configured to accommodate a wide variety of differently sized, shaped, and/or designed solid state lighting apparatuses. Solder pads and related methods described herein can advantageously be used to accommodate a wide variety of lighting apparatuses, independent of the apparatus size, shape, and/or design.